Aimee-Kimberly - Coming Out

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Aimee-Kimberly - Coming Out

Submitted by mjreale on Sat, 02/16/2013 - 12:04

Coming Out Can Be Scary

Aimee had never been more confused in her life. She wanted desperately to understand all of the emotions she was feeling but nothing made sense. The truth seemed to be more complicated than she had initially thought it would be and the idea of opening up her heart and telling Kimberly how she felt seemed terrifying. Aimee and Kimberly had been friends for two years now. Kimberly and Aimee had met the year before at try outs for the volley ball team. Neither of them had made the team and had ended up making the softball team instead. Both of them had younger brothers and older sisters, so their friendship had been forged over jokes about the middle child and a shared frustration with the fact that they were too short to play volleyball.

Aimee didn’t have a lot of friends. She couldn’t imagine what her life would be like at school if the two of them got into a fight. She’d be devastated and alone. It would be even worse if Kimberly made fun of her and told the rest of the school her deep, dark secret. It was evident that it was going to take a great deal of courage for Aimee to come out. Over the past year, Aimee had learned of four other students who had come out in their school. Three of those students were guys who talked openly about their realization and the other was a girl named Lisa who was about to graduate. Lisa had been relatively quiet about her coming out, but she had had plenty of friends who seemed to be supportive enough. “Now it’s my turn,” thought Aimee as she took a long sip of her iced tea. She knew that she had to say something. Anything would be better than keeping her secret locked up inside.

Aimee was sitting across from Kimberly at Gianni’s Pizzeria and the two of them had been talking and laughing about the various things that had occurred at school that day. Aimee took her time chewing the last bit of crust from her pizza and felt her heartbeat increase. “It’s now or never”, she thought.

She opened her mouth to say the words she had so ruefully practiced at home, but nothing came out. Her heart felt like it was going to explode. Her hands started to shake and she sat there staring at Kimberly. “What is it?” Kimberly asked. “Are you okay?” “Yeah, I’m okay,” said Aimee. “I’m gay. Okay?” Kimberly smiled and let out a sigh. “Oh. That’s all. I kind of already knew.” The two girls looked at each other and laughed out loud. Aimee was filled with a sense of relief and the two girls continued on with their conversation.

Not everyone is lucky enough to have a friend like Kimberly. The fact that Aimee might be gay was not going to change their friendship. Like Aimee, some girls are terrified that their friends will judge them or ridicule them when they find out. Others have seen fellow students teased, bullied and ostracized after they courageously spoke up about their sexual orientation.

Do you know someone who reminds you of Aimee? Be kind and listen to your friend or relative. Make sure they know that you are willing to support them and love them just the same as you always have. It’s important that they know nothing will change.

If the character Aimee reminds you of yourself, know that you are normal and that you are not alone. As you read these words, thousands of girls across the globe are struggling with finding the courage to speak openly about how they feel as well. Seek out someone you trust and talk to them about what’s going on. If you fear being ridiculed or bullied, seek out an organization that advocates for youth and ask them what to do.

Below are some awesome websites that will make your life a whole lot easier!